Monday, October 02, 2006

College Football - Iowa takes on #1 Ohio State - 2006

Comments after watching the game live at Kinnick:

1. Iowa had more yards per carry than tOSU, yet rushed the ball 30, yes 30 FEWER TIMES than the Bucks. I realize Tressel tried to run clock in the 3rd and 4th Qs, but only 20 rushing attempts by Iowa is far too few.

2. Why is it that that for some reason Parker believes our LBs can cover tOSU's receivers? Klinkenborg on Gonzo, not smart. Did we not learn anything from last year in the shoe when Anthony destroyed Greenway? IF Chad couldn't defend Gonzo, do you really think Klink or Humpal could? Also, why did we have (on select plays) our LBs covering Ginn??? Doesn't make sense to me.

3. Give the ball to Sims. He has opened my eyes more and more as this season progresses. He is certainly much improved from last year. Give him the ball.

4. Iowa shot itself in the foot too many times. 3 picks, and 1 fumble were 4 turnovers too many. Those TOs turned into tOSU points. If Iowa holds onto the ball, it's a completely different ballgame. Iowa would have been able to get through Tate's first two picks, but the fumble killed them. Down two scores and driving the field with plenty of time, Iowa had their chances.

5. Tate. Love his heart, but he just did not play very well last night.

6. Fenstermaker continues to be one of the best punters in the Big Ten, if not the nation.

7. Chris Wells is scary good.

8. We missed Paschal in the secondary.

9. Hawk fans showed their support to the end... I know my throat and body are pretty sore. What an environment in Kinnick last night... too bad the team wasn't able to play to their potential. Good things will be coming Iowa's way the rest of the season, though. This team will respond with big things this year!

10. I wish there was a BT Championship game to give Iowa the chance of maybe meeting up with tOSU again this year.

11. For one day, Iowa was the center of the college football universe. What an incredible feeling!

I wanted to see what I missed from what I saw at the game vs. what was shown on TV. First let me say that my initial comments about the game were spot on. I am not concerned with anyone calling me a homer, an idiot, etc... about what I think.

Watching the game again, I am 100% sure that if those two teams suited up again, Iowa would win the ballgame. Go ahead and tell me that I don't know what I am talking about, I don't care.

If Iowa could have eliminated the little mistakes, they had that ballgame (regardless of the final score). Iowa's defense was really containing the Buckeye offense for the most part. The short fields were where tOSU took advantage. Too many dropped balls by Iowa, and too many mental mistakes cost the ballgame.

Iowa is not that much below tOSU in terms of how good they are this year. tOSU is very beatable, and I don't see them going undefeated this year. Please don't take that as a knock on the Bucks, as they are very, very talented. But after watching the game again, Iowa had its chances to knock off the #1 team in the nation, and several times during the game it looked like they would take over the momentum for good, but then Iowa would shoot themselves in the foot.

Iowa fans - for those of you waiting for Iowa to start playing better (myself included), your wait is over. The game is the turning point for the program. There is no such thing as a moral victory, but I know looking at the video of the game, there are a TON of positives to come away from it. The reason Iowa lost the game was because of silly mistakes and executing. Iowa has the ability to run the table the rest of the year, and I am very confident that they can do just that. It all starts with Mr. Tate. Iowa goes as he does. If he is not ready to accept the challenge, Iowa will be in trouble. But if Drew is ready to step and become that guy, then the sky is the limits for this year's team.